Polishing compound for finishing table cutlery



GUSTAV F. I-IEMIVIING, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT; THERESA L. HEMMINGADMINISTRATRIX OF SAID GUSTAV F. HEMMING, DECEASED.

POLISHING COMPOUND FOR FINISHING TABLE CUTLERY.

No Drawing.

To all to homit may con cern Be it known that I, GUSTAV F. HEMMING, acitizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in a Polishing Compound for Finishing Table Cutlery; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inpolishing compound for finishing table cutlery, more especially onepiecehigh grade steel knives, and it has for an object a compound which isemployed to simplify and expedite the polishing operation throughmechanical means rather than manual effort and labor.

This invention also resides in the utilization of waste products fromknife polishing operations as the base for the improved polishingcompound.

The present day method of finishing table cutlery knives consists,firstly, in grinding the blade in an automatic machine and handgrindingthe back, neck, bolster, rim and handle. Following this grinding, threeseparate and distinct hand polishing operations are required to removethe marks caused by the coarse grinding wheel, each operation beingperformed on a separate wheel. The first wheel is, of course, emery andis followed by finer grades of emery on the succeeding wheels to preparethe several parts of the knife for the final polishing operation calledglazing. For the glazing step, very fine emery is mixed with beeswax andtallow into a semi-solid cake which is held against the glazing wheel tocoat or cover the latter therewith. Frequent application of the glazingcake to the wheel is essential since the friction of the knife againstthe rapidly rotating wheel causes more or less of this coating compoundto fly off, and this escaped compound in large establishments, amountsto tons in a short time and is then thrown away as a waste product.

Attempts have been made to recover this waste product for further use inglazing but failed because it would not produce the same finishedsurface as the original compound but rather show more or less finescratches which are clearly observable on a Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed October 21, 1920.

Patented July 11, 1922.

Serial No. name.

highly polished knife surface and which are due to the fine particles ofsteel intermingled with this waste product.-

A further waste product, which has heretofore been thrown away, isobtained from the washing or cleansing step, the same occurring at thecompletion of each of the polishing operations, including the glazing,and consisting in cleaning the knives in kerosene, benzine, or likeliquid, to remove the foreign matter and adhering particles of steel.This cleansing liquid soon becomes too foul for its purpose, and isthereupon discarded as useless.

To simplify and improve upon the former methods, the present method orprocess has been evolved, after many costly experiments, whereby all ofthe operations between the automatic grinding and the glazing areeliminated and a finer and more uniformly finished surface for glazingis obtained than is possible by means of the former three intermediatepolishing operations.

The improved compound consists of the aforesaid waste products of theglazing compound, and the foul cleansing fluid. The waxy, gritty,glazing substance is mixed with the cleansing fluid, either the foulkerosene or benzine, or both, to about the viscosity of glycerin orliquid paste which will adhere to and yet flow over the surface of theknife. The ground knives are placed within a tumbling barrel and coveredwith this abrasive compound, and the barrel is then slowly rotated whichaction will cause the knives to slide over one another without cominginto direct contact, steel to steel, and causing dents or nicks due tothe protection afforded by said abrasive plastic. This sliding, tumblingmovement of the knives over each other, acting against their plastic orsemi-liquid covering but not penerating it, completely effaces the markcaused by the grinding wheel and leaves a surface having no definitegrain lines or marks and which is renderedcapable of taking a highpolish by a slight contact with the glazing wheel. Obviously, thisexceedingly simplifies the former method which incorporated theintermediate polishing operations that left grain lines requiring a moreextended process in thus eliminating three intermediate and expensivepolishing operations, and the superior results obtained by means of theimproved abrasive waste products, would indicate the decided advance inthe polishing art over the former method.

The minute particles of steel which occur in both waste products andprincipally in the glazing waste, are most efficacious in removing thegrinding marks and adding a polished surface to the cutlery. Experimentshave shown that unless the ingredients of the waste products are used,i. e., the waste beeswax, tallow, emery, minute particles of steel, andbenzine or kerosene or both, the polished effect is far inferior andextends over a longer period. Thus, a compound of fresh emery, beeswax,tallow, benzine, or kerosene, while too expensive for practicalpurposes, consumes a longer time to produce a surface far inferior tothat produced by the waste compound. Iron particles or filingssubstituted for the steel will not answer the purpose since they fail tomake an impression on high grade steel. The addition of benzine,gasoline, kerosene, or the like ingredients suitable for cutting thebeeswax and tallow both failing to serve this purpose, reduce the massto a plastic state for covering the cutlery with a protective coating.The improved polishing compound is not only inexpensive to procure, butalso as to its use and function since a superior finish is obtainable ina shorter period with its use than is possible under the former handpolishing and grinding method.

What is claimed is A polishing compound for use in a tumbling barrelconsisting of the waste products resulting from let, the glazing of thesteel cutlery with fine emery, beeswax, and tallow; and 2nd, thecleansing of the cutlery in a distillate.

In testimony whereoi I affix my signature.

GUSTAV F. HEMMING.

